


triptych

by thesmallbee



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Promises, Stargazing, Time Skips, alternating pov, more comfort than hurt though don't worry, this is for rikaiweek2019 but it's actually sorikai y'all know how i roll
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-18 10:43:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21509767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesmallbee/pseuds/thesmallbee
Summary: three hearts, three starry skies, three promises.
Relationships: Kairi/Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	triptych

**Author's Note:**

> /ˈtriptik/  
>  _noun_  
>  a work of art that is divided into three sections.

Kairi is six years old and she is looking up at the stars. 

She swears she watched them all fall, quite recently, the sky crumbling like wet sandcastles, but that is something she’s still too scared to talk about. 

“Do you think it’ll be dangerous?” she asks the boys on either side of her, quietly. They all want so badly to go on an adventure, to leave the little island she’s quickly learned to call home, but she’s afraid of so many things. It’s easier to admit it in the dark.

On her left, Riku hums like he’s thinking hard about something. “Well, I already promised Sora I’d keep him safe, so I’ll keep you safe, too. That way, you don’t have to worry about that,” he tells her with all the confidence of a boy who’s a whole year older than she is and takes every opportunity to rub it in. 

“You promise?” she sniffs, turning her head to look over at him. His big green eyes in the dim starlight remind her of the frosty-smooth glass she sometimes finds in the sand while hunting for shells. 

“Promise,” Riku swears, deadly serious, before moving to press a clumsy kiss to her cheek.

 _‘Oh, I love you very much,’_ she thinks, the way that children are freely-giving with their love.

She watches the stars and holds two warm hands that feel like safety. 

Riku is sixteen years old and he is looking up at the stars. 

He did terrible things to reach them, not too long ago, and he is still reconciling the better person he’s determined to become with the person he used to be. 

“Do you think things will ever be okay again?” he asks his friends, quietly. He knows they’ll never be the _same_ , not after everything, but he’ll never himself live it down if he broke something in them beyond fixing.

“It’s already okay,” Sora shifts closer as he speaks, so that their joined hands rest together on their thighs instead of in the sand between them, "It's all okay – we're okay. We're fine as long as we're together."

He’s warm at Riku’s side, and it makes a shiver run down his spine as he looks over at him. This close up, he can see the constellation of freckles across the bridge of Sora’s nose, and Riku itches to drag his fingertips across them. 

“You promise?” he asks, willing his voice not to break. Guilt like broken glass eats at him just for daring to ask, but he needs to hear it.

“Promise,” Sora assures him, leaning over a bit so he can brush a gentle kiss across Riku’s forehead. 

_‘Oh no, I think I love you too much,’_ he thinks, in a way that is less desperate than it once was, but still enough to frighten him. 

He watches the stars and holds two warm hands that feel like forgiveness.

Sora is twenty-six years old and he is looking up at the stars. 

He helped put them back up there, once upon a time, and he would still happily do it again so long as he could bring them both along for the ride this time. 

“Do you think we’ll be together forever?” he asks his partners, quietly. There always seems to be some force trying to get in their way, and the thought of not having them by his side again makes a sense of dread tighten between his shoulders and threatens to topple him. 

By his side, Kairi laughs through clenched teeth, harsh and determined, and he turns his head towards her. 

“I dare anyone to try tearing us apart again. They’ll have to go through me this time,” there’s a razor edge to her voice, sharpened from years of fighting for her right to stand with them. Her smile has too many teeth, a shark’s smile, and Sora takes a moment to be grateful he’s never been on her bad side. 

“You promise?” he grins, weaving their fingers together and punctuating it with a squeeze. Even when he has his doubts, it doesn’t take much for either of them to reassure him.

“Promise,” Kairi vows, reaching over to seal it with a gentle kiss. 

_‘I love you so much,’_ he thinks, steadfast and as sure of it as he is of anything, with the comfort of knowing they love him back. 

He watches the stars and holds two warm hands that feel like home. 


End file.
